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Military
Kan to Meet with SDF Chiefs
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Kitazawa and Kan on Ship
Tokyo -- For the first time since "regime change" in September 2009, the Japanese prime minister has invited the four chiefs of the SDF services to the Kantei for direct talks. These talks will take place tomorrow, with Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa also expected to attend.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to hear the opinions of the SDF brass on security issues in Northeast Asia, in particular about North Korea's nuclear development and China's military activities.
The SDF leaders are Chief of Staff Ryoichi Oriki, GSDF Chief Yoshifumi Hibako, MSDF Chief Masahiko Sugimura, and ASDF Chief Kenichiro Hokazono.
Prime Minister Kan appears to have been goaded into this meeting by LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Shigeru Ishiba, who declared in the course of Diet debate on August 2nd that former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama probably could have escaped the Futenma relocation debacle had he listened directly to the opinions of the SDF leaders.
Kan responded that he would like to meet them soon.
Ishiba is a former Minister of Defense and is known as a "military buff." He has been a consistent advocate of a stronger role for the uniformed services. He is also considered to be one of the most intelligent and capable leaders of the opposition LDP.
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